Hot Honey Chicken Biscuits (Printable)
Buttery biscuits topped with crispy fried chicken and spicy-sweet hot honey, perfect for brunch or casual dinner.
# What You'll Need:
→ Chicken
01 - 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved and pounded thin (or 4 thin cutlets)
02 - 1 cup buttermilk
03 - 1 teaspoon hot sauce
04 - 1 cup all-purpose flour
05 - 1 teaspoon paprika
06 - 1 teaspoon garlic powder
07 - 1 teaspoon kosher salt
08 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
09 - Vegetable oil for frying
→ Biscuits
10 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
11 - 1 tablespoon baking powder
12 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
13 - 1 teaspoon sugar
14 - 3/4 teaspoon salt
15 - 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
16 - 3/4 cup cold buttermilk
→ Hot Honey
17 - 1/2 cup honey
18 - 2 tablespoons hot sauce
19 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
→ Assembly
20 - 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
21 - Sliced pickles (optional)
# How-To Steps:
01 - In a mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and hot sauce until blended. Submerge the chicken cutlets in the marinade, cover tightly, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight for maximum tenderness.
02 - Preheat oven to 450°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Cut in the cold cubed butter using a pastry blender or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized pieces. Gently stir in the cold buttermilk just until the dough comes together—avoid overmixing.
03 - Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently pat it to 3/4-inch thickness. Using a 2.5-inch round cutter, cut out 8 biscuits, pressing straight down without twisting. Arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 12–14 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Brush the hot biscuits with melted butter immediately upon removing from the oven.
04 - In a small saucepan, combine the honey, hot sauce, and crushed red pepper flakes over low heat. Warm gently, stirring occasionally, for 2–3 minutes until well blended. Remove from heat and set aside.
05 - Heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet to 350°F. In a shallow dish, combine the flour, paprika, garlic powder, kosher salt, and black pepper. Remove each cutlet from the buttermilk marinade, dredge thoroughly in the seasoned flour, and shake off any excess. Fry the cutlets for 3–4 minutes per side until deep golden brown and cooked through to an internal temperature of 165°F. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
06 - Split each biscuit in half horizontally. Place a fried chicken cutlet on the bottom half, drizzle generously with warm hot honey, and add sliced pickles if desired. Cap with the biscuit top and serve immediately.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The contrast of shatteringly crispy chicken against a soft, buttery biscuit is the kind of thing that makes you close your eyes on the first bite.
- Hot honey is the simplest magic trick you will ever perform in a saucepan, and it elevates everything it touches.
02 -
- If the butter in your biscuit dough warms up before you get it into the oven the layers will collapse into dense little hockey pucks, so work quickly and handle the dough with cool, dry hands.
- Resist the urge to twist your biscuit cutter when stamping out rounds because twisting seals the edges and prevents them from rising properly.
03 -
- Let the fried chicken rest on a wire rack set over a baking sheet instead of paper towels, because paper towels trap steam underneath and soften the bottom crust you just worked so hard to achieve.
- Pound your chicken breasts to an even thickness before marinating so every piece cooks at the same rate and you never end up with one dried out edge and one undercooked center.